Old Enemies
by Goldenscar
Summary: Sequel to The Journey's Start. Captain Sade River and Captain Jack Sparrow have teamed up and combined their crew, but what happens when an old nemesis of Sade and Karissa turns up and offers to help? And just what is the story behind why he knows Jack, anyway? Can he be trusted? As if that weren't enough, Sade's parents are back, and this time they're determined to bring her back.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Sade is Tricked

A storm rattled the _Ocean Pearl_'s sails. The crew, mixed with both genders, raced around making sure everything was okay. Strange, how storms can change everything about your mood. Like how you could have been peacefully chatting with your first mate one minute, then, when the clouds moved in, began complaining bitterly about the whole situation.

"This is crazy. You'd think that Davy Jones controlled the weather, too!" I abandoned the wheel and began pacing. "I'm going to go get some dried pineapple," I huffed. "That usually helps."

"Maybe it helps YOU," muttered Karissa, my best friend and first mate. "Should I take over the wheel, Captain?"

"No need. The wind did it for us." My long blonde lion's mane of hair billowed out as I stormed back to my cabin.

Well, it used to be my cabin. Now I'm sharing it with Captain Jack Sparrow, who glanced up at my arrival.

"Well someone's uptight tonight," he said cheerfully. "Lovely little breeze."

"It's a gale, you bloody pirate," I grumbled, stumbling over to my cabinet with my personal supply of dried pineapple.

The ship shifted suddenly. I tripped and fell into Jack, who caught me and we both ended up tumbling onto my bed. Jack's bottle of rum started to tip, but he reached over to catch it just in time.

I groaned and went limp in Jack's arms. "I give up. I just give up."

"Come on, love," he said playfully, standing up and extending an arm to help me up. "This isn't the Captain Sade River, the destined Golden Lion that I know."

I took his hand and he pulled me up. "Some storm," I commented.

Jack crossed the room to take a sip of rum, but the ship moved again, and the result was a soggy, bewildered Jack Sparrow on my bed, and a dazed, rather frustrated me on the hard cabin floor.

"This is getting out of hand," I complained.

"At least you're not the one covered in rum, love."

"Knowing you, I'd think you would delight in that," I said, picking myself up.

He sniffed his arm. "Well, it does make me smell nice."

If smelling nice meant smelling like rum, Jack _always _smelled nice.

"Anyway, Jack, Karissa and I are having a little trouble with the wheel. Will you help us?"

"Of course, love," he started, when the ship shifted again and I ended up in Jack's arms.

"I could get used to this, love," he purred, tracing my lips with his forefinger.

"Stop it," I told him sternly. "We have to get the ship righted. You don't want to sink to Davy Jones's locker, do you?"

He stopped mid-trace with his finger on my lower lip, staring at me dumb-founded.

"Okay, bad choice of words." I cringed, and he let go of me, grabbed my arm, and led me on deck, muttering something about bad jokes.

Why are there two captains on this ship? How am I a girl and still a captain? And what's up with the whole Davy Jones thing?

Well.

Let's start at the beginning.

The beginning is that I am the first female captain ever to set foot in Tortuga, the biggest pirate hangout ever. Not that I'm a pirate. I'm not so big on the whole stealing/killing thing. Never done that. But I captain the _Ocean Song._

I didn't always live at sea. Before my life on the ocean, I lived in a normal family, had a normal life, and went to school.

I hated it.

That was when the pirate Hector Barbossa kidnapped me and my best friend Karissa Norman. We escaped on a rowboat, and headed to Tortuga. We didn't really want to go back to our normal lives, so we stole a ship (okay, so we stole once. So sue me.) We named it the _Ocean Song _and gathered a crew of women sailors that had been turned down by men simply because they were women. Karissa let me be captain, so I let her be first mate.

Things were perfect for a while. We sailed the Caribbean, finally freedom, sweet freedom! I had a loyal crew, a loyal first mate, and best of all, I was now Captain Sade River.

That was when trouble struck.

I was born on Friday the thirteenth, so, unknown to pretty much the whole world, I couldn't go to heaven when I died. I had to join Davy Jones on his ship, the _Flying Dutchman_, and be a part of his damned crew forever. Basically, I had to forever serve him.

We ran into his ship and had a bit of a fight. I told the crew to go hide, but Karissa wouldn't leave my side. We both drew our swords as Davy Jones, who looks a bit like an octopus man, came. We had an epic sword fight, and he ended up telling us the prophecy that a Golden Lion would end up defeating him ultimately.

The Golden Lion was called that because of her golden hair that looked like a lion's mane.

We survived the fight, told the unsuspecting crew we had ran into Barbossa, and made for Tortuga. Karissa had heard a rumor that Captain Jack Sparrow, possibly the most famous pirate captain ever, had a magic compass that pointed to what you wanted most in the world. To make a long story short, he offered to give me the compass in exchange for my service on his ship, the _Black Pearl, _for a couple of months. I agreed, named Karissa captain of the _Song, _and set out to find the girl. Well, little did I know that that girl was me. To make another long story short, Jack, his first mate, Gibbs, and I faced Davy Jones, didn't win or lose, and found that Karissa had made her way here with a rowboat. All of us hurried back to Tortuga, teamed up, turned the _Ocean Song _temporarily into the _Ocean Pearl, _and set out to help me fulfill the prophecy.

And I don't miss school one bit!

"Karissa!" I called as Jack and I approached. "Jack's gonna give it a try!"

Jack smirked at the storm ahead of him as he took the wheel. "A storm won't stop Captain Jack Sparrow, love," he told me. "Now no more Davy Jones's locker, savvy?"

"Sure, Jack, just don't crash us, okay?" The ship moved again and I grabbed his arm to stop from skidding across deck. Karissa, however, toppled over the platform and ended up on the deck below. I chanced a glance over.

"I'm fine," she called. "Just give a warning next time before Jack takes the wheel."

Jack frowned. "Captain Jack, love, and it was like this before I started steering." He concentrated on the sea ahead, his dark brown eyes concerned. I hooked my arm through the ship's rail, squinting to see the crew rushing around and Karissa crawling back up.

"Jack!" I screamed. He glanced up and did a double take as a huge wave towered over us. Karissa and I hugged each other tight as Jack ducked. The wave only hit the platform, grabbing Jack whom I held tight to. It didn't do any good. The wave swept the both of us over board.

We went up and down a couple times, gasping for air, and I felt a little woozy once I came up the last time. Jack, who had already recovered, had lost his rum scent but not his charm. "Let me know if you need mouth-to-mouth, love," he purred seductively.

I snarled at him but didn't let go of him; what good would have come of that? The _Ocean Pearl _had disappeared somewhere in the distance, and I groaned. "Now what?" I asked the pirate.

"The mouth-to-mouth, I should think," murmured Jack.

"Jack! We're out in the middle of the ocean, and all you can think of is…" I found I couldn't say it. "Anyway, we're going to die, and I'm going to be damned forever and never go to heaven, and I guess I won't see you then, Jack. I'll miss you."

"You will?" he whispered, doing that lip-finger thing.

I sighed. We were going to die, and I would never see him again. I might as well tell him how I felt. "Oh, Jack, you can be annoying, but sometimes you're my best friend in the world, other than Karissa. And you're, well, brave in your own way. Your own strange, twisted way that I don't get at all. Then again, you don't really get me, either, so whatever. Anyway, you're a great friend and when you're in heaven I want you to remember me as the Golden Lion who wasn't afraid to challenge stereotypes. And I think you should know that I still have your compass in my pocket, so if you want to die with it in your hands, I understand."

"Anything else?" asked Jack.

"Well…"

"How do you think I look?"

"Wet. And amused."

"I mean, most of the time."

"Um, why?"

"Just answer."

"Well…" I blushed a little. "Handsome, I guess. In your own pirate way. But that doesn't mean you're a good person. Looks are only skin-deep." I leaned against him. "Goodbye, Jack Sparrow." The waves were getting wilder. It wouldn't be very long now. Tears rushed down my cheeks. I had failed. Never again would there be another Golden Lion.

"Hmm," Jack smirked, and I felt a bad sense of foreboding. "Now where did that island come from?"

I whipped around. There, indeed, was an island.

"I- you- that… you saw it all along, didn't you, you worm?!"

Jack's smirk grew as we stumbled onto the island. "So, you think I'm handsome, love?"

"Like I said, that doesn't mean anything!" I growled. "It doesn't mean…"

Suddenly, Jack pulled me toward him, and I was right in his face. "I understand exactly what you mean, love."

I tried to push the pirate away, but he didn't budge. "You can't move me, love…" he picked me up and twirled me around as though we were dancing. "But I can move you. I can do whatever I want with you."

I glared down at him. "I hate you."

"The last time you said that, you had just jumped into the Caribbean Sea to save me. Now, you're up in my arms, and you still say that."

"So?"

"So I'm saying that your words don't vary depending on the situation."

"So," I snarled, "you mean if I said, I'm going to knock you silly, you don't think I'd actually do that?"

Jack smirked. "Just kiss me."

I punched him, which was a mistake because it sent us both tumbling to the ground. Jack just managed to catch me but the impact of his body hitting the ground left him a little loopy. He sat for a minute trying to regain his bearings while I surveyed the supplies.

"Palm trees… a raft? Coconuts… food… A couple other plants… we'll have to test if they're poisonous… and that's about it."

The storm was calming down a little. I sighed. The first thing to do was to try to get that raft ready. I gave Jack another kick, my rage at him still freshly ablaze, and got to work planning.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jack's Methods and Spanish Guitars

There was really no need to worry. I should have known my faithful Karissa would come back for me. It took a while, but the ship finally arrived on the horizon. The real torture was the time on the island.

When Jack totally woke up, I was already trying to figure out how we would cut down the palm trees. "They haven't come yet?" he asked.

"Not yet." I grabbed a rock and rubbed it against the wood to see the result. "I'm positive they'll come. This is just in case."

The worst part about this was that he thought I had a crush on him, when that wasn't the situation at all. I couldn't help it if he looked handsome, just like he couldn't help that I had his compass. At least I had that still.

I kept trying different ways, but nothing seemed to work. Jack just sat there, watching. When night started to come upon us, we started a fire so we could see.

"Take a break, love," he called to me as I kept trying.

"I can't. If the ship doesn't come back, we'll be stuck here."

"Just a minute. I'm not working."

"You never were." I sighed as I glanced at the blisters on my hands. "Okay, I'll stop. But just for an hour or so."

Jack was lying down in the sand and I came to lie beside him. "Love, I understand if you're surprised by this, but…" Jack pulled out a Spanish guitar from the bushes. "This washed up while you were working."

I hesitated as I stared at it. Jack knows I can't resist the sound of the Spanish guitar. It's just so soothing, and it reminds me of freedom, pure freedom. Like what I had before Davy Jones entered the picture. Before everything went crazy. But after school and being caged in. Perfect serenity…

My thoughts melted into the music that Jack began strumming. I felt my eyes close, thinking of my freedom. I didn't have to go to school anymore. No more homework, no more repressed feelings, no more having to slog through each day resentfully. I was free. And freedom was everything.

I felt my body go limp. The words came to my mind, hesitated at my lips, and then made their way out. "Jack, are we in heaven? I mean, we're free, you somehow know how to play the Spanish guitar, and Davy Jones is nowhere in sight." Okay, I know it sounds crazy, but that's how I get around Spanish guitars.

"We can make it heaven, if you just admit you love me." Jack kept strumming. "I've got you, love. You can't resist it, can you?"

I tried to clear my mind, only to find that I couldn't. "Stop," I moaned.

To my surprise, Jack obeyed. "Now tell me why you won't tell me you love me."

"I don't love you," I growled. "You're a coward, you're not loyal at all, you're a horrible man, and you live just to break women's hearts." That about summed it up, so I turned around with my back to him.

"Ah, yes…" Jack smirked, and I knew what he was thinking about…

. . .

_Who do you think you are?_

_Running 'round leaving scars_

_Collecting your jar of hearts_

_Tearing love apart._

_You're gonna catch a cold_

_From the ice inside your soul._

_Don't come back for me_

_Don't come back at all._

That was the song I sang to Karissa on the deck, Mr. Gibbs listening in. As I sang, Karissa was closing her eyes, muttering, "I love that song, Sade."

"I do as well, Captain," put in Mr. Gibbs. "Did you know that Jack's ex-girlfriend, Bonnie, considers that his theme song?"

"Never would've guessed," I snickered. Karissa smirked a little too.

"It's true," insisted Gibbs, not getting the hint of sarcasm. "Actually, she wasn't the first to say that. There was Dianne, Marlee, Mika, Cece…"

"Don't forget dear Joselyn," came Jack's amused voice. The three of us turned.

"You never loved any of them, did you?" My tone was cold as ice.

"They were all so beautiful. I couldn't resist."

Karissa was mad, too. "What, and then a prettier one came along?"

"You monster, you wolf in human's clothes! I can't believe you! You treat women like pieces of gum. When one loses its flavor, you grab another! Well, Jack Sparrow, I hope that one day you do fall in love, and then someone breaks YOUR heart. That's the only payback good enough that I can think of." I hated men who regarded women like that. So why was I friends with Jack? I shook the question out of my head and went back to hating him.

"You're a…" Karissa couldn't think of a bad enough insult, so she just stormed off to the girls' cabin.

I was sort of stuck where I was, since I was steering, so I kept scolding Jack. "So women aren't good enough to fight, is that it? Only there to be your slaves. You're despicable, and I don't know why I don't maroon you right now! I live to fight, live for freedom, live for the ocean. Never just to be some man's slave. You're the worst person ever, I don't believe I've ever seen you do the right thing, you're horrible, you're awful, and you're unworthy to be on my ship- WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING, YOU BLOODY PIRATE?"

Jack kept smirking. "I don't believe I've ever seen such a un-lady-like girl in my life. You're quite stubborn, love. But I do believe any proper young lady would be horrified at you."

"Too bad for them. I like being stubborn, and no one can do anything about it. As I was saying, you're horrible. Sometime I'll have to ask Megan to take a poll of how many hearts you've broken-excuse me, how many hearts you've collected in your jar. Now leave, and don't come back for a while." I tossed my golden hair.

Behind me, I could sense Jack and Gibbs exchanging looks before Jack strode off, as though he had just made an appearance on stage. How was it he could do everything he did with dignity?

. . .

"Well, it's true," I insisted. "You're a complete womanizer. You treat us like objects." I could feel myself returning to Earth from wherever the Spanish guitar had brought us… Heaven?

Jack smirked and began to strum. Heaven came again, and I felt my knees go weak. How could just a bit of music do this? Then I began to pick out a tune, and I began to mutter the words to myself.

"Who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts? You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul, don't come back for me, don't come back at all." I glanced at Jack. The tune became very fast, not a song anymore, just Jack making it up as he went. And it was amazing. The notes began to race into each other, the faster it went. My heart beat as fast as the music, and I felt my knees go even weaker. The pirate took the opportunity to trip me and I fell into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and kept playing. The music suddenly became slow and dreamy. I tried to fight my own feelings for it, but was having a hard time. Finally I gave up and went limp, and I could just HEAR Jack smirk.

"You're different, love," he purred seductively.

I braced myself and knocked the instrument out of his hand. "You say that to all of them. I bet you said that to Megan before she went out with you. You're disloyal in every way possible, and I'm never going to love you."

"If I can't have your heart," murmured the pirate captain, holding me closer, forcing me to wrap my arms around him. "May I have your body?"

I shivered. He was saying it in his usual seductive tone, but I was shuddering at the very thought of what he would do with my body if he ever got ahold of it.

"No!" I pushed him and slapped him on the cheek so he turned around- and then we both saw it.

"The _Ocean Pearl_!" I cried. Jack turned, grinning, and we both forgot about what had just happened and grabbed each other, dancing around like maniacs.

"They came back, they came back, they came back!" I screamed to Jack.

"I know love, you don't have to leave me deaf!" We kept dancing around the campfire, occasionally yelling senseless phrases to each other.

"I thought we were dead! All we had were a couple trees and a Spanish guitar!"

"Personally, I liked the Spanish guitar!"

"Oh, shut up!"

And that was how Karissa and Gibbs found us, dancing around like we didn't have a care in the world. Karissa stepped up and cleared her throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the great Golden Lion and the fearsome Captain Jack Sparrow!"

We all laughed at that. Just after Karissa, Gibbs, and Jack had boarded, I grabbed the Spanish guitar. What could it hurt?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

170 Broken Hearts, Courtesy of Jack

Once we were back on board, a couple things happened.

It was midnight, and Jack was out steering while I was in bed, trying to get to sleep. A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!" I called.

Indira came in. Now Indira is nice, but she's really attractive and often wears revealing clothes. She's also a little boy crazy, so I don't trust her with missions at Tortuga. But all in all, she's a loyal comrade that any captain would want.

"Hi, Indira," I yawned.

"Hello, Cap'n." She looked kind of nervous.

"What brings you here?" I sat up.

"Well…" she hesitated. "I need to talk to you about Jack."

"Oh," I said sympathetically. "Poor thing. Has he been trying to seduce you, too?"

"Actually, I kind of like him."

This struck me as odd. How was it possible to like Jack? "Okay, why are you telling me this?"

"Because Captain, the whole crew knows that he likes you. But we haven't been able to figure out if you like him, so…" her voice trailed off.

"You're asking me permission to pursue him."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Indira, I don't like him. But there are some things to know before you start falling head over heels for him. Go talk to Mr. Gibbs. I'm tired. Tell me all about it in the morning."

She nodded eagerly. "Thank you, Captain!" She left happily.

Poor thing, I thought. About to walk into the same trap at least another hundred had. My rage at him flared up again. Indira was a good loyal woman. She deserved better than that scum. And a couple months from now she could be crying her pretty gray eyes out over him.

I rolled over and closed my eyes…

. . .

"Another C in mathematics, Sade! You need to study right now! GO!"

"But Mom! Please? Why can't you just give me another chance? This is my first this week!"

"Because you're a smart girl and you don't need second chances!"

"Mom, everyone deserves second chances. Really. It's just what's right. I may be smart, but I'm not perfect."

My mother glared at me. "Sit at that table and study. Don't get up until I tell you to!"

"But…" I protested, then sighed. How could I get her to see that everyone needed another chance?

. . .

I woke up in the morning puzzling over the meaning of the dream. Then I got it.

"You've had all the second chances in the world, Jack." I rolled my eyes. That guy didn't deserve a second chance.

Speaking of Jack, he strode into the room just then. "I say, love, the sunrise is almost as golden as that lion's mane of yours."

"Ever hear of Indira?" I cross-examined him.

He glanced at me, startled. "Is she the one who wears bikinis?"

"Yes," I spat. "She is a good, loyal woman and you better not…"

"Love, don't worry. I'm not interested in her. I saw her glaring at me right after she was talking to Mr. Gibbs."

I relaxed. "Good," I murmured. "I don't need another problem."

I closed my eyes and leaned back on my pillow. Jack, meanwhile, had grabbed a brush and began stroking my tangled hair.

"Come on, love, the _Song _can't run without her captains."

"You're right." I stood up, preparing to face the world. "Breakfast, Jack."

He held out his arm to escort me and I hesitated. I was never sure of what to do when he did this, as it was a gentlemanly gesture and Jack was the exact opposite of a gentleman: a pirate.

I took it reluctantly and we strode to the table outside, where Karissa, Gibbs, Jack and I ate every morning. Our first mates were both there already.

"Good morning, Captains," greeted Gibbs.

"Hey Sade. Hey Jack," Karissa droned in a bored voice.

"Captain Jack," the pirate corrected as we sat down.

"So…" I contributed. The four of us hadn't been alone for a while.

"Gibbs, what did you tell Indira?" Jack asked. Then I noticed our prettiest crew mate glaring at him from a distance.

"The exact number of girlfriends you had."

Karissa and I leaned forward, eager to receive the exact statistics.

"Well?" my first mate prompted.

"A hundred seventy." Gibbs took a sip of wine as Karissa and I stared at each other wide eyed, and, in harmony, turned to study the desperate womanizer.

Jack smiled. "What can I say? I'm a magnet."

"You're a maggot," I insulted. Karissa and I had both risen.

"Honestly, I oughta…" Karissa was interrupted.

"Captain! Captain!" I swear the whole crew came running to Jack and me, swamping us. The attention was mainly fixated on me, however.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Captain Hector Barbossa is coming, Captain!" piped up Azariah.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The Intro to Freedom

"You're joking!" I scoffed, but Karissa's eyes widened into feverish, wild bits of dark chocolate.

"No! I swear! Come look!" Kristi promised, tugging me by the hand and pulling me onto the deck.

Barbossa's ship. My introduction to my new life of freedom. My heart greeted the sight warmly, but my mind recoiled from the image. Which was I to trust?

Jack solved the problem. "Barbossa is just plain trouble," he advised me. "I say put the cannons up."

"Don't," I ordered the crew, and they halted.

"Do," Jack repeated. The crew started to obey.

"Don't," I declared, and the crew halted again, looking quite exasperated. Most of them were throwing Jack and I looks.

"I think she's right, Jack," Gibbs chipped in. "He doesn't have his cannons up."

"Exactly," Karissa agreed. "How do you know Barbossa, anyway?"

Jack closed his eyes, like he was drowning in memories. "We've met," he replied vaguely.

When Barbossa stepped on board, the first thing he said was, "Parler."

"Parler granted," I said coldly. "The captain is right in front of you."

Normally Jack would come in with, "And over here, as well," or something like that. But the pirate remained silent and stood behind Gibbs, who appeared to know why he was acting strange.

"Sade, my dear." My nemesis gave me the once-over. "My, how you've grown. And that blonde hair, prettier than ever before. And you're not just stick-thin anymore. Look at those curves, men," he chuckled to his crew. "And that chest…" he stared at my body, as though thirsting for it. "You could be a model, darling…"

One of my most loyal crew mates, Nettle, paraded over and gave the horrid man the slap he deserved.

"Sorry, Captain, I couldn't resist." There was fire in her warm brown eyes.

"I understand completely, Nettle." The crew mate saluted and returned to her place.

"Oh, and don't forget those long legs…" From his spot on the floor, Barbossa was dancing along the border line of receiving a swing at the neck with my sword. I settled for a kick.

"What are you doing here, you miserable excuse for a pirate?" I disarmed him, holding his sword and mine in both hands.

"Here me out, dear…" Barbossa's voice faltered for a minute.

Throughout all this ruckus, Jack and Gibbs had been slowly progressing their way carefully back to the captain's cabin. Karissa had been occasionally shooting them questioning looks, and the whole situation would have been extremely comical if it were being viewed on stage. However, it wasn't, and I was trying to figure out what was going on without glancing back too much.

"Ah, Miss Karissa." Karissa jumped and turned to look at Barbossa. "You've got curves too, not quite as big as a chest but thinner… Not curvier thought… but that might be because Sade has broader shoulders…" he kept glancing back and forth, Karissa and I alternating glances at him, each other, and Jack and Gibbs, who had almost reached their goal.

"Let's take a vote!" Barbossa decided. "All for Sade?"

I glanced at Karissa, who was staring at Barbossa.

"All for Karissa?"

I turned to pierce Gibbs and Jack with another nonplussed expression. Karissa was still glaring at Barbossa as he counted hands.

"An exact tie! What are the odds, eh?"

Karissa and I caught each other's gaze, like, _what the heck is going on?_

I turned back to Barbossa. Karissa made the fatal mistake of chancing a peek at Jack and Gibbs, who were both about to open the door. Barbossa followed her gaze.

"Gibbs? What are you doing on this ship? And if you're here, then perhaps…"

Barbossa knifed his way through the crowd to Gibbs and Jack, and pulled the sheepish pirate captain out from behind his bodyguard.

"Jack Sparrow," regarded Barbossa.

"Hector," Jack returned, trying not to appear frightened.

"So you've landed on a ship with a girl just as determined to be captain as you are. So tell me: which is in charge?"

Jack and I had had many fights over dominance, but in the end had both decided on this solution.

"We both are," I intervened, forcing my slender body between the two captains. Barbossa did a double take. "Come again, my sweet?"

"We both are," I repeated, trying to hold back my repulsion at the sweet part. "There are two first mates, as well. Karissa and Gibbs."

The two pirate captains were glaring at each other, as though both were daring the other to… to… I wasn't quite sure.

I raised myself on tip-toe to come level with them both. "Excuse me, gentlemen, but I have one question for each of you."

"Shoot," Barbossa approved, still looking daggers at Jack.

"Don't tempt me," Jack muttered.

I put one hand on both of their chests. The two pirates glanced down, as though they had forgotten whose ship this was.

"Jack. How do you two know each other?"

Jack placed a hand over my own on his chest. "I used to work for him. Then I committed mutiny."

"That's the short version." Barbossa's voice was both smooth and dangerous, in the way only pirates' voices can be.

"Sade, my dear love, I don't feel comfortable with the idea of you touching this monster." Jack tugged my hand away from Barbossa's chest and placed it on his own.

"Sade, my sweet darling, I do not feel content with the idea of you touching that scoundrel." Barbossa took my hands and glared at Jack.

"Sade, my best friend, would you like your sword?" Karissa said this extra loudly, and both Jack and Barbossa pulled away glaring.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Barbossa calmly.

He swallowed. "You've heard of a gentleman by the name of Davy Jones, correct?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Barbossa's Truce

I could feel the tension in the air. I felt like the place we were standing was a stage, and Jack, Barbossa, Karissa, Gibbs and I were the actors. I was in the middle of the bickering pirate captains, Karissa and Gibbs off to the side. We were all staring in amazement at Barbossa, our eyes wide open.

"Y-yes," I stammered. "And- you- you've heard…"

I gazed into his cold gray eyes and found knowledge. No warmth, but knowledge and recognition; that was enough for me.

I bowed my head a little, a sign of respect from one pirate captain to another. "You have heard. About the Golden Lion?"

He repeated the gesture. That meant that I wasn't planning on killing him, and he wasn't planning on killing me. Perfect. That simplified things a little.

"Of course. Everyone has. You're famous, dear." Barbossa dropped his gaze to my pocket. "I came to help."

"Why?" I marveled cautiously. Jack grabbed my sleeve and pulled me to stand beside him.

"Because, my pretty, I was born on a Friday the thirteenth as well." Barbossa looped his arm through mine and strolled down the deck calmly. "I am willing to help in any way possible, as long as I get a fair share of Davy's famous treasure at the end."

I gulped. We hadn't been planning on stealing any treasure, but it appeared that now we were. "Of course, Hector." Barbossa was a good, strong ally to have, even if he was cold-hearted.

"Great! I will be joining you on your ship, and my crew will take my ship back to Tortuga and remain there. I do not wish for them to come." Barbossa gestured to his crew and his ship swung around.

The both of us had been talking loud enough to be heard by everyone present, so I said, "done."

"So I'm part of your crew now. Show me to my cabin, my sweet."

I escorted him under deck and through the halls to the men's cabin. I decided that, on the whole, it was best not to show him where the women's one was.

When I arose back on deck, Karissa, Nettle, and Amy, another crewmate, all ran up and hugged me.

"What are we going to do?" cried Karissa.

"Having a bunch of pirates on board and now this?" added Nettle.

"Just make it stop!" exclaimed Amy.

"I'm sorry," I declared. "But if you want to defeat Davy Jones, this is the way to go. I don't doubt Barbossa. I know he was born on a Friday the thirteenth. I just was too stupid to make the connection." And I felt stupid, like I hadn't done anything right lately. From the instant Jack and I had been swept overboard, absolute mayhem had pursued us, hunting the _Ocean Pearl _down.

That wasn't going to stop me. I shook my crew mates and first mate off, strode over to the wheel, where Rhona was steering, and climbed up the rope to the crow's nest, brooding in thought for a while. I decided to review everyone involved in this, except all the crew members, since that would take forever.

Me- Well, I highly doubted I was going to betray myself.

Karissa- She had been my best friend since kindergarten. She was good and loyal, and I would have been astonished if she turned on me.

Jack- A pirate, so that immediately makes you wonder. He's not that good of a man, but he's a great swordfighter. And I was still trying to work out whether he and I were friends or not.

Gibbs- His main character trait was loyalty. He was the closest thing Jack had to a friend.

Davy- The enemy.

That about summed it up. But now, I could add Barbossa into the mix.

More complications? That was the exact opposite of what we needed.

Of course, we had never gotten exactly what we needed anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Sad Looks

Jack and I sat across from each other in my cabin. It was dark. Shadowy, evil dark in which you could easily imagine spiders crawling up your back, or an icy hand reaching out to grab you, or another world where the word freedom has never been spoken- not a whisper, perhaps not even a thought… a hopeless dream, at best. A nightmare to both Jack and I.

Candlelight flickered, catching the pirate's deep, dark brown eyes. My blonde hair shone. There was an empty bottle that had once contained rum, Jack's favorite beverage, on the table, and it sent out light it had captured in the glass, twisting it in odd, unearthly ways. Merely playing with it, toying with it, refusing to let it shine free. The beads in Jack's long, unkempt hair glistened. I couldn't help remembering the trick, when I told him that he was handsome. He was. Really. But he didn't have a good heart. And that was what mattered. I kept my eyes down, and refused to acknowledge his presence. But I knew he was there, and he knew that I knew that he was there, so there wasn't much to be done. Ignoring a pirate is hard. Don't try it at home.

The atmosphere was generally creepy. I felt suddenly alone, unwanted, stupid, unimportant, ugly, disloyal, a coward… that stuff. I felt my eyes zone out on the table in front of me.

We stayed stationary like that for a minute. Then, Jack reached for the rum bottle, and I gave a violent jolt. The movement had startled me.

"Sorry, love," he murmured as he tipped it upside down to be sure it was empty. He caught a couple drops, then set it down again, dissatisfied.

"Why is the rum always gone?"

"Because you drink it." A spider was climbing up my back. I knew it. And any second it was going to sink its poisonous fangs into me, sealing my fate forevermore…

"Stop it," I said to myself. Jack glanced up.

"Stop what, my love?"

"Not you…" I inspected my hair in the candlelight. When I glanced up at the pirate captain again, he surprised me. He was watching me, and there was something in his eyes… Pain? Regret? Longing? Whatever it was, it quickly faded once he dropped his gaze.

I considered this for a moment. Jack Sparrow and pain? The words didn't go together. Something was wrong.

"Jack." I made my voice urgent. Whenever I do that, he tends to get semi-serious. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, love." The pirate's voice shook a little, but it was soon steady and deep again. "Second thoughts about Barbossa."

"Here." I rose and reached under my bed, grabbing the magic that separated me from the world sometimes. "Play." I shoved the guitar in his hands. He glanced up and nodded.

It was all too right. Everything melted into nothing except Jack, the guitar and I. With Mom, everything was wrong. I could feel that I didn't belong where I was. But now I did belong.

Jack's tune was slow and mournful. I sneaked a peek at his eyes, and they were full of the same emotion. He was pouring his heart into the music.

Was he really this sad about Barbossa?

Slower, sadder, slower, sadder. Poor Jack. What was wrong with him?

The music changed. It was an action song, and I could picture Davy Jones and I sword fighting to it. I gripped the compass in my pocket, like it was a lifeline. I chanced another glance at the pirate. His eyes were back to normal, and he was happy again. Had I just imagined it? I must have. It was just an illusion, like the spiders…

When Jack finished, the world had righted itself. Of course I was wanted! I was the Golden Lion! I was smart! How could I have thought that I was dumb?

"Is that better, love?" Jack handed me the Spanish guitar.

"Yeah, thanks." I tucked it under the bed again and rejoined him in the candlelight.

The stars outside would have provided more light, but neither of us felt like moving. This was a moment of serenity, just one little moment of peace to grab and cling to, and I was doing my best.

Jack's eyes had that playful twinkle. "Well, love, it's ten o clock. Time for bed."

"Not yet, please," I muttered.

"So you're admitting to the fact you want to spend time with me."

I couldn't help laughing. Out of relief, mainly. Jack was fine.

Jack looked up, amused. "What are you laughing at? I'll give you something to laugh at!"

I had been standing up, and he tackled me gently onto the bed. He hovered over me for a moment, me laughing, him smirking, and finally wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up. He then set me down on the ground.

"Jack!" I laughed, but then my blood ran cold. I remembered Megan telling me about how Jack seduced women, and amusing them was one of his main strategies.

I whirled around and said icily, "Okay. Bed time."

When I turned around again, Jack's eyes had that sad look, but when he saw me turn he quickly righted it. "Come, now, love. It's just a bit of fun."

"I happen to know what just a bit of fun can turn into," I snarled. "Blow out the candle and let's get in bed."

The pirate obeyed, looking more than a little disappointed. As he got in bed, I had to snarl quietly to myself again. I'd never let that womanizer break my heart.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The Stroll

Barbossa became a part of daily life. We all sort of had to ease into it- Karissa growling each time he passed by, Gibbs edging away, and I warily avoiding him and wearing my leather jacket over my tight black shirt a lot more often.

But it was our very own Jack that reacted the most violently.

The day after the candlelight incident, Jack woke me up himself, as he always did, and, as he always did, left the cabin so I could get dressed. (I had caught him trying to peek once—_that _little scene ended in a hurry.) I could already tell it was going to be a windy day. Empty rum bottles rolled around the cabin as I pulled my shirt on. Dried pineapple spilled from the drawers. Some gold pieces tumbled out of Jack's sack… Wait, those were mine! I rolled my eyes and tucked them in my pocket.

"I'm dressed!" I called to the pirate on the other side of the door.

It flung open and Jack entered. "I say, love, you look even more beautiful than usual. May I inquire as to the occasion?"

He held his arm out to escort me, and I marveled at this. "Jack. Since when did you become such a gentleman?"

"I always escort you, my love," replied the captain, looking pleased at my question.

"But something about you has changed," I insisted.

Jack shrugged, and held out his arm more urgently.

I took it and resisted the urge to cross-examine him further. I also sort of had to resist taking him back into the cabin and thrusting the Spanish guitar in his hands again.

On the way to the table where Jack, Karissa, Gibbs and I usually ate, Barbossa stood.

"Orders, Captains?" His voice sounded amused, yet the look on his face was serious.

"Nothing," I declined shortly. Jack held me tighter, and we breezed by him.

After a quick breakfast, Jack had gone back to our cabin and I was with Karissa at the wheel-she was steering. Barbossa approached us.

"If I may have the honor of strolling with you, Captain?" he asked me.

My brain screamed, "Don't do it! It might be a trap! What if he makes off with you?"

But my heart whispered calmly, "This is how you'll get the answers to your problems. You'll learn a bit on this walk, you will."

My brain quieted down, and I stood up. "You may," I approved. He hooked his arm through mine, which made me cringe a little, but I let him lead me.

We were silent for a while, then my nemesis spoke. "You do know the reason I kidnapped you."

"You knew I was the one. You recognized the hair."

"Exactly. I suppose there were more humane ways, but what if you didn't believe me, or if you didn't want to? The brunette…"

"Karissa?"

"That's the one. She was so annoyingly insistent on saving you that I had to take her along. Pointless, friendship. Risks your own life."

"Friendship isn't pointless," I argued. "Have you ever had anyone risk their life for yours?"

"Not that I know of."

We continued in silence. I had been tense, but I began to lean against Barbossa's arm. He stopped and we came to a rest, gazing out at the sea.

"When you escaped," Barbossa continued, "I remember being both appalled and delighted. Appalled because you had slipped through my very fingers, and because of that grave mistake I could find myself on Davy's ship. Delighted because of your cunningness, creativity, skill with a blade. If anyone can defeat Davy, it's you, my sweet."

"Thank you," I said blandly. Wind blew fiercely, tossing my golden hair over my shoulders.

"You seem concerned, dear. Something unanswered lurks beneath those hazel eyes." He put a hand on my chin and guided my face to turn towards him. "What is your question?"

"How…" I stopped, swallowed, tried again. "How…" Almost got it that time. "How do you know Jack?"

"Sparrow and I go back a long ways." Barbossa's cold, emotionless gray eyes were pools of memory. "He worked on my crew. Thought that I killed too much. Committed mutiny. I had some loyal crew mates find their way back to the island that dog marooned me on…" Somehow I knew that wasn't the whole story. Barbossa was holding something back.

"Don't call Jack a dog." The words came to my mouth automatically, and I replayed them in my head, surprised that I would say such a thing when I had called him names much worse than dog.

Barbossa studied me. "Rumors, my sweet, rumors are swirling in Tortuga, as mysterious as the morning fog, that Captain Jack Sparrow truly loves Captain Sade River."

"Rumors are stupid," I dismissed.

"Unbelievable, people are saying. Jack's never loved a soul."

"Exactly."

"Others say that the beauty…" he snatched a lock of my hair and began to play with it. "Just might be able to tame the beast."

I turned around and stomped my foot. "Are you crazy? A hundred seventy, Hector. Remember that fateful number."

With that I headed back to Karissa and the steering wheel. Behind me, I heard Barbossa whisper, "A hundred seventy-one is the charm, darling."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Jack's Vital Rum

"Captain, ma'am." Dee, one of my crew mates, startled me out of my stupor as I steered. "We're out of rum."

"So?" I sneered.

"Jack insists we get more, Cap'n."

"Tell him that alcohol is literally poison and it will kill him one of these days, and that I will gladly watch his flailing body take its last few breaths if he insists upon making port."

"Okay. I'll tell him you said yes," Dee decided, and I groaned as she walked away.

"Orders, Cap'n?" Karissa had been swinging freely on the rope that led to the crow's nest.

"Yeah. Check out a map and tell me where the nearest port is." I rolled my eyes. "Jack just had to bother us about his rum supply."

"I told him yes!" called Dee, running back.

"Great. Did you tell him that alcohol is poison and that I will gladly watch…?"

"No, but you meant yes, right?" Dee skipped away to take her break.

Suzette, Oakley, and Tomas brought Karissa the map, and she hopped down from the rope and spread it out on the floor.

"Go for Port Royal," she said. "That's the nearest."

Zia, Zola, and Kurtis, who had just been passing by, paused. "Not there," said Zia.

"Why?" asked Karissa, surprised.

"Mr. Gibbs is wanted there," she explained, and they passed by.

"They're famous for catching pirates and hanging them," I explained.

Tiberius, Zoe, Logan, Jay, and Jane had gathered around us.

"Should we risk it?" asked Karissa.

"When have we ever backed down?" I returned. "Anyway, it's only Gibbs, we just won't put him ashore. It can't hurt."

"If you're sure, Captain…" Karissa's voice trailed off as she stared at the map like she expected it to speak to us. "I guess that'll work. Go north."

"Actually…" Jay messed with his long dark brown hair and lowered his eyes sheepishly. "I think I'm wanted there, too."

"I know I am," Tiberius put in.

"And I think Jack is," Jane winced.

I closed my eyes. "Fine. I'll take only my crew aboard. But we have to get there… not only are we out of rum we're also out of dried pineapple."

"Of course," sighed Zoe.

I glowered at her, then turned to Logan, the only one who hadn't annoyed me so far. "Logan. Go get a group together. Only girls. Include yourself if you wish."

She nodded, and scampered off to do the task.

A few minutes later, I, Karissa, Logan, Gwendolyn, Farah, Mariah, and Jack stood ready to leave the ship.

"You really shouldn't do this, Jack," I chided him as we stepped out onto the dock. "You could get caught and hung."

"Nonsense," the pirate declared. "My love, you seem to have forgotten one very important factor."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he responded, and we made to leave the dock.

"Excuse me," said a man behind a table. "A shilling and the Captain's name, please."

Jack and I glanced at each other.

"How about three shillings…" Jack dumped them on the table. "And forget the name."

The man glanced up, startled, but after a few seconds smiled. "Welcome to Port Royal, Captain Smithy."

"Smithy?" grumbled Jack as we paraded off.

"Just go with it," I whispered to him.

"Ah, Sade!" I heard a voice say.

"That's Lord Cutler Beckett," I explained to Jack. "He's part of the military, and in charge of pirate hangings. Be careful."

I turned and saw my friend behind me. "Miss River, how long it's been since you last came! And Miss Norman, too- hello, Karissa! - and the rest of your girls."

"Not all," I corrected.

"And who is this?" Lord Beckett turned to Jack. He frowned for a minute. "Face seems familiar…"

"This is a homeless man we picked up in town," I said hurriedly. "His name is Smithy."

"How kind of you, Miss River!"

I had known Lord Beckett for a while. He had helped me escape my parents once when they came to look for me here. Karissa and I had lived with him for about a month, and he had been very good to us.

"Yes, well," I glanced at Jack, who was glaring at me and trying to hide it from Lord Beckett. "He's a bit of a scoundrel, but he can be brave and loyal if he puts his mind to it."

"Come to my house and have tea with me," Lord Beckett said cheerfully. "I hope you don't mind it green?"

"Of course not," answered Karissa eagerly. Oh, God, can that girl drink green tea.

"Very well then, come on." Lord Beckett led the way to his house, the house Karissa and I knew like the back of our hands. My crew followed happily, Jack reluctantly.

"How is the _Ocean Song _doing?" asked Lord Beckett, getting the teakettle ready.

"Oh, the _Ocean Pearl _is doing great!" exclaimed Mariah. Then she realized her mistake as Karissa shot her a look. I glanced at Jack to see how he was taking it, and he was just observing calmly, looking a little amused.

"The _Ocean Pearl_?" Lord Beckett didn't seem to suspect anything. "So you've changed the name?"

"Uh, yeah!" I said, playing along. "Same crew, same ship, new name!" The rest of the crew nodded when I said this.

"It's to throw Sade's and my parents off track," explained Karissa, and I sent her a thankful look.

"Your parents?" Lord Beckett glanced up from the teakettle. "You two might want to be warned, I heard they're looking for you again."

"Where?" I asked calmly. "They never found us before."

"Miss River, you might want to know…" Lord Beckett's cold gray eyes took on a worried tinge. "They're looking in Tortuga."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Lord Beckett's Betrayal

"No," I moaned. "No, no, no, no, no."

Everyone's attention was fixated on me. My crew members looked worried, Kalie looked flabbergasted, Lord Beckett looked grave, and Jack- well, Jack was Jack, he didn't react much. But I thought I saw one of those sad looks in his eyes again.

"How did they know?" I cried, jumping up. "How?" I demanded the answer intensely, rage at the unfairness of it all glittering in my eyes.

"Why, Miss River, you seem to have forgotten…" Lord Beckett's tone was gentle. "You seem to have forgotten you're famous."

"First female captain," Jack reminded me.

"So they know everything?" I paced around vigorously. "NO! They can take away my dried pineapple, they could take away the compass, they could even take the clothes off my back for all I care, but not my freedom! Not my freedom!" I was on the verge of tears.

"What are you going to do?" asked Lord Beckett.

"I don't know," I cried, trying to calm down and failing. "I don't know."

Anger subsided and I felt only sadness, weakness… I collapsed in a chair and buried my face in my hands.

I felt a warm hand firmly clasp my shoulder, and looked up to find Jack.

"I wouldn't worry," he said, addressing pretty much everyone in the room except me. "This is the bravest, strongest, smartest girl I've ever met." He shook my shoulders to enunciate his point. "Look. She has broad shoulders, see? Most girls have frail, thin little things. She has a lot of upper body strength, see?" He took my arm and flexed it. "Muscular."

"Are you suggesting she fights her parents?" questioned Karissa, wide-eyed.

"My point is that she's a strong, hardy girl," Jack summed up.

"But that's not to say that she isn't a proper young lady," argued Beckett. "Look, she has a slim frame and… and…" he paused. "My Lord, Sade, you're not wearing a dress."

"No, she isn't. I can't picture her in one," defended Jack.

"We've wasted enough time here," I said, standing up. "Come, everyone."

That was when I noticed Beckett studying Jack.

"Miss River," he began.

"Got to go!" I grabbed Karissa's sleeve and we fled the scene, my crew members and Captain Jack Sparrow following closely.

Lord Beckett was yelling something in the distance, and several soldiers rushed towards us.

"The… rum…" Jack managed.

"No time!" The _Ocean Pearl _was just fifty yards away…

"Move!" I commanded the crew as we boarded. "Move! We have to go! Prepare everything! Barbossa, take the wheel!"

My orders were carried out, but Gibbs looked hesitant as we pulled away from Port Royal.

"What is it?" I asked him. Us two were standing near the side of the ship, gazing down at the sea.

"Well, it's just, this couple, they asked to be taken aboard. They haven't let yet. Looks like we're stuck with them."

"And you just LET them go aboard MY ship?!" I demanded. "Didn't I leave Barbossa in charge? Since when would he do something like this?"

"He went to his cabin and left the job to George, and, well, you know George."

I certainly did. George was the one pirate that was always drunk. Worse than Jack, if you'll believe it.

"So where are they?" I asked.

"In your cabin, Captain."

I swallowed. I knew who they were. "Thanks, Gibbs. I suppose you all had to follow George's orders. I am going to go murder Barbossa now." With that pleasant remark, I crossed my wonderful ship and jumped on top of the steering platform, not bothering with the stairs.

"Hector," I said. "Why did you leave the drunk pirate in charge?"

He turned toward me, and his gray eyes widened. "What did I do now, darling?"

"George!" I cried. "The drunk one! You left him in charge!"

"He acted sober."

"They all do," I groaned. "Now my parents are aboard my ship. So much for freedom."

I leaned over the rail. Freedom, the one thing I cherished. Would I have to go to school again? That was awful. I closed my eyes, and memories hit me like a brick wall. The feeling of not belonging. The other girls laughing at my lack of make-up. Suppressed feelings. Homework. Bad grades. Torture. Hell.

For the second time that day, in the midst of my despair I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I know what this means to you. I just made a grave mistake. I'm sorry. But to get to you, they'll have to get through me, Jack, Karissa, your crew mates, and Jack's crew mates. We're all on your side." Barbossa patted my shoulder and went to steer again.

I turned toward him. Our eyes met briefly, and questions unanswered came back. What was it with him and Jack?

"Thank you," I told him sincerely. "I'm going to go face my parents now. I'll bring Jack just in case."

He nodded, bowing his head again, and I jumped off the platform. "Jack!" I called across deck.

The pirate turned to face me, his handsome brown eyes glittering in the sun.

"We're going to talk to the exact opposite of freedom," I explained, and beckoned him over to our cabin door.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Parents

I put a shaking hand on the doorknob. I felt Jack's presence next to me, and I grabbed for his hand, shivering all over. He took hold of it, put a hand on my chin, and turned my head to face him.

"Sade River, when we are in there, I will protect you with my life," he assured me.

I swallowed, looking directly into his eyes. "Jack… I don't know what to do… I feel so nervous…"

My heart took off on high speed chase as I pulled the door open.

There on my bed sat my parents. My mother, tall, lean, and red-haired, was gazing at the empty rum bottles disapprovingly. My father, tall, muscular, and dark-haired, was playing with Jack's compass. They both glanced up when we entered.

My heart was beating faster than it ever had in my life.

My mother broke the silence. "I don't recognize you.

"This is the real you, Sade," she continued, holding up a portrait I had had done back when I lived with them. "A proper young lady. Now look at you. Too thin, too muscular, which girls aren't supposed to be, and holding hands with an infamous pirate. What have you done to your life?"

I met her gaze steadily, then dropped my eyes to look at the portrait. "I don't know that girl. Nobody ever did." With that, I snatched it from her hand, threw it on the floor, and stamped on it.

My parents both stared at me, their eyes widening.

"My name is Captain Sade River, captain of the most durable ship in the Caribbean, the _Ocean Pearl_. This is Captain Jack Sparrow. I belong here now. I never belonged where you come from."

"If I may speak," Jack added, "I do believe that Sade here is a wonderful sailor, aren't you, love?"

"Don't call my daughter love," my father snarled.

"He can call me what he likes," I said, surprising myself.

"Sade," my mother began.

"Captain Sade," I corrected.

She rolled her eyes. "Whoever you are, I couldn't have been more surprised to find you on a stupid boat…"

"It's not a stupid boat! It's a glorious, beautiful, majestic ship! It's MY glorious, beautiful, majestic ship!"

"… with a first mate who used to be your respectable best friend…"

"And still is!" I said, glowing with pride at the mention of Karissa.

"…with a captain who is obviously mad…"

Here Jack grinned and took a bow and I proudly ruffled his coat.

"…and with a bunch of rugged pirates!"

Jack was so proud he swept off his hat when he bowed to her this time, and when he had finished he slung an arm over my shoulder. "I agree, ma'am, I think that Sade here picked the perfect lifestyle."

"Don't touch my daughter," my father piped up.

"He can touch me whenever he wants," I said.

"My point is," said my mother, "that you need to come home right this minute."

"I am home," I said simply. "This is where I belong. On the sea, having adventures."

"But Sade," said my father. "You can't belong on a ship with a bunch of criminals…"

"Oh, no, sir, not criminals! We prefer pirates, though the girls at Tortuga call us scoundrels." Just to make my father mad, Jack pulled me in front of him and hugged me from behind, rubbing my stomach. It felt good; I didn't have to pretend to enjoy it.

My mother's eyes blazed. "Sade, you come home this instant! We'll get you in school again, find you a respectable man, and better friends that Karissa."

"I don't want school, I don't want a respectable man, and it's impossible to have a better friend than Karissa."

Jack worked his hands upward-they were about to touch my chest. Here I had to pretend to be enjoying it, and tried to send him a mental message- _Jack Sparrow, I'm going to kill you later._

"Sade, why does it feel like the ship is moving?" asked my father, suddenly getting a panicked glint in his eyes.

"Because it is," I said, leaning deeper into Jack, who began to massage me more vigorously. "You're stuck. Believe me, I'm not pleased about it either. We'll find you a spare cabin, and feed you and everything, and drop you off when we find some land."

My parents both gasped in harmony, and I broke free of Jack and opened the cabin door. "Gibbs!" I called.

He hurried towards me. "Orders, Captain?"

"Yes. Find them a spare cabin." My parents followed the first mate, and after they left I turned to Jack. "Overdoing our part a little, are we?"

"Admit it, love. You liked it."

"You were touching my chest!" I blushed a little when I said this.

"Aye, that was the best part." Jack smiled and closed his eyes, replaying the memory.

"Look, at first, you were doing great! Annoying my father? I'm all for that. But you didn't have to take it too far."

"I didn't have to, but I did. Makes it all the more believable, eh?" His eyes remained closed.

I approached him, about to slap him or kick him or something, but then he opened his eyes fast as a shot and pushed me up against the wall. I could feel the wood through my shirt, and Jack's breath against my ear.

"Jack, what are you doing?" I cried. I didn't like this. His lips were coming closer and closer, hovering just a bit away from my own.

"Love. I've been…"

The cabin door banged open. Thank God! His lips had literally been a millimeter away from mine, and if that door had waited another second, they would have touched. For the first time in my life, I was glowing with happiness to see the face of Hector Barbossa.

Jack glanced up, startled, his grip on me slipping. I jumped out of it, feeling rather awkward, but no one was noticing me now. Barbossa and Jack stared at each other, hatred oozing from their eyes.

"Sparrow. Always the gentleman." He said this with sarcasm, loads of it, in his tone.

"Like your any better, Hector." Jack sneered. "What do you do to your girls… kiss 'em till they suffocate?"

"Excuse me!" I cried. "But girls are human beings, not treasure or rum. We are not just simply things to be enjoyed by men! We are…"

My voice trailed off as Jack and Barbossa stared at me, then looked at each other as if they had just gotten a good idea.

"Uh oh…" I muttered. Something bad was about to happen.

The two men both started towards me, and I felt myself rooted to the spot. Jack placed a hand on one of my shoulders, Barbossa on the other.

"Sade. My dear love," said Jack.

"My sweet darling," purred Barbossa.

Then, at the same time, they said, "We have an idea."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The Secrets Uncovered

I hate it when pirates get ideas. The ideas are either so crazy that they always work, or so risky that they work. But believe me, pirates' ideas always work in the most infuriating way.

I was still standing in the middle of Jack and Barbossa. The two pirate captains were conversing to each other, completely ignoring me, while I was trying to figure out what this was all about.

"Perfect way to settle our debate."

"And whoever wins gets…"

"We'll work that out later! Actually, maybe Sade here can provide something."

Finally, I threw my hands up in the air. "Woah, woah, woah. Just hold your horses. What debate? Is this more about Jack's mutiny?"

The pirates glanced at each other. "Darling," said Barbossa. "I think it's time for you to learn our little secret."

And so they unfurled their tale.

. . .

Jack was a teenage sailor at Tortuga, not quite a pirate yet, and trying to find a good job. That was when Captain Hector Barbossa had come.

The two men met each other at a bar, quite by chance. It just so happened that the seat next to Jack's was the only one left in the bar.

Jack was drinking rum, and stewing in thought. Barbossa sauntered up to him with his own rum.

"Excuse me, lad, but may I…?" He gestured to the seat next to Jack's.

"Oh. Yes. Of course." Jack gave it a side-long glance.

Barbossa sat and began to drink, then stopped and stared at Jack. Jack was getting quite uncomfortable with this man, and he continued drinking.

"You look lost," Barbossa declared to him.

"I imagine I do." Jack gazed at Barbossa.

"Hard times?"

"One of my girlfriends just found out I was cheating- a hot one too, damn it- I don't have a ship, and my only past time now is drinking."

Barbossa considered this for a minute. "Well, you are in a pickle, aren't you?"

"You could say that."

"You say you don't have a ship?"

"I used to have one! Actually, it was a bit small…" Jack cringed as he thought of the tiny little rowboat he had escaped on. He had run away from home a few months earlier.

"You need work?"

"Aye, any type of it I can find meself, mate." Jack smiled triumphantly. He was getting the hang of pirate talk.

"My name is Captain Hector Barbossa," said Barbossa. "What's yours?"

"Jack Sparrow."

I have a position open aboard my ship. You may take it, if you like."

"What sort of ship, mate?" Jack inquired.

"Why, a pirate ship, of course."

Jack felt a leap of excitement. "You mean that?"

"Yes, lad, you think I'd lie?"

"Well, you are a pirate," Jack pointed out, feeling quite reasonable. "I'll come. When should I be there?"

"Tomorrow. Early tomorrow. I don't like lateness."

"Of course not, Cap'n!" Jack had never felt more exhilarated in his life. "I'm not turning down such a good offer! Who _needs _hot girls, anyway?"

Barbossa smirked. "There's the spirit lad. Besides, it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard…"

. . .

"How sexist," I scoffed.

"What?" asked Barbossa, who still had a faraway look in his eyes.

"Well, Jack was talking about women like they're objects, not that that's new, but still. I mean, seriously? 'A hot one too, damn it'? And you, Hector, with your 'women are bad luck'? You're almost as bad as him!" I pointed to Jack.

Jack and Barbossa glanced at each other. "Love," said Jack. "This was before I met you."

"Yes, we all know that," I responded, rolling my eyes.

"So how was I supposed to know that later, I would be telling this story to a raging feminist?"

"You could have left that part out," advised Barbossa. "I was going to, before you brought it up."

"Yeah, well, he didn't leave it out, and I've scolded you, so please, let's continue," I pleaded, thirsty for the truth.

"Okay," agreed Barbossa, and I was plunged into the past again.

. . .

A couple of years later, Jack was still working on Barbossa's ship. The pirates had just finished capturing a ship, and it looked like everyone on it was dead.

Except for one young woman and her baby. The woman was tied to a mast, and her baby was on a blanket beside her. The woman was crying in agony, and her baby looked rather bewildered and confused. Jack, who had become first mate, was watching them, his face expressionless.

When his captain strode by, though, Jack grabbed his coat. "Captain, is this really necessary? Why did we spare her?" he asked.

"Because, Jackie, she tried to protect her husband and baby by grabbing a knife. She killed one of our men. She and the child are to be tortured," answered Barbossa.

He left, and Jack watched him go. As soon as the captain was out of sight, he ran over to the mast.

"What's your name?" he asked the woman urgently.

She stopped screaming. Perhaps she trusted him. "Marjorie," she answered. "And this is little Dieter." She gestured to her baby.

"He's a handsome thing. Probably going to grow up to be strong and tall." Jack gave the baby a quick once-over.

"Have you come just to taunt me?" questioned the woman coldly.

Jack met her gaze. "No," he replied. "I have come to try and save you and your child." He paused. "I might only be able to save one of you," he continued. "If that be the case, which one of you am I to rescue?"

"Dieter," answered Marjorie without skipping a beat.

Jack nodded. "You are brave, ma'am," he said. "I will attempt my plan after dark. The torture is to start tomorrow."

As he walked away, Jack grew disgusted. _Killing everyone on that ship was bad enough. But torturing babies? Torturing women? That's not right. Barbossa is awful. But wait. Maybe there's a way to rebel. Could _I _take over the ship? I don't see why not. Makes sense. Yes. Next time we go to Tortuga, I'll secretly gather a crew. That Gibbs guy I met last time, he wasn't too bad. And we'll grab the ship, leaving Barbossa and friends stranded on Tortuga. But right now, I need to focus on saving Marjorie and Dieter._

That night, Jack snuck out and approached the woman and baby.

. . .

"Wait," I said. "Barbossa, you were going to kill a baby?"

Barbossa sighed. "Aye, I was different then. But Jack, you're not being entirely fair to me."

"I'm telling it as it is," responded the current story-teller. "Now, love, where was I…? Oh, yes. Marjorie's and Dieter's rescue."

. . .

"I hope you're okay, ma'am," whispered Jack as he cut through her ropes with a dagger.

"I'm fine," she sighed. "You are a kind, bold boy, Jack Sparrow."

"Why thank you, miss," responded Jack. "Well… I mean…"

The woman shed a single, pearly tear.

"Your husband died, didn't he?" asked Jack, feeling incredibly guilty.

"Yes," she said quietly. "Dieter is my only reminder of him. He was a real man, Pierce was. Loyal to me, never making eyes at any other woman. Brave as a lion, he would do anything to defend me. Always stayed with me, never went out late at night, or got drunk and cheated. He was so special…" She hung her head.

Jack paused in cutting her bonds. "Is that what girls like about boys?"

"It's what any smart girl would want from one," she replied.

"Oh," said Jack sheepishly. "I guess I haven't been going out with very smart girls."

Marjorie laughed for the first time since her husband's death. "You're a funny boy, Jack Sparrow. You know what? One day, you will find the right girl. And you'll know by the way that no other girl, no matter how pretty, appeals to you."

"Really?" This all sounded very strange to Jack, so he continued cutting her ropes. "Boy, that's confusing."

Marjorie laughed again. Soon, her bonds were free. Jack picked up the baby and went to get a rowboat.

"Here's a compass, and a map," he said. "And some food and water. You'll get to shore soon, Port Royal is only a couple miles away in that direction. Good luck, Marjorie."

She hesitated at the rowboat, and glanced back at Jack. "Jack Sparrow, I will never forget what you've done for me," she said.

"And I will never forget your kindness and trust, ma'am," he said. "Now go. Be free. And most of all, know that because of you, I will soon be _Captain _Jack Sparrow."

. . .

"Jack, I really don't know what to say," I sighed. "You were so brave."

Jack grinned at Barbossa. "I told you she'd side with me," he said smugly.

Barbossa sighed. "What do I owe you?"

"I get Sade all to meself for a day," answered Jack.

"What?! Hello! Raging feminist right here, listening to every word you're saying!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine. You owe me… Let's see… you owe me… a really big bottle of rum. Really, really big."

The two men shook on their deal, and I sighed. "At least my parents weren't here for all that," I said.

Karissa burst in the door without even knocking. "Emergency! Navy ship coming! All hands on deck!"

"_I _give the orders!" screamed Jack and I at the same time, tripping over each other to get onto deck.

Sure enough, there was a Navy ship after us. And I recognized Lord Beckett standing at the front like the ship's figurehead.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for reading! PLEASE REVIEW! I have been getting absolutely no reviews! Please? **

Chapter Twelve

Sade's Choice

My mind was on the situation, and thoughts were running through my head- _How can I fight him without killing him? Does he want to kill me? Hell, does he even know what's going on?_

My heart was focused on other matters.

So Jack did have a brave side. He had saved that poor woman and her baby.

I'd give my very own ship up to see him do it in real life.

_No, you wouldn't, _my mind interrupted. _He's a scoundrel. A rascal. He's a pirate. For all you know, they were making it up._

Didn't seem like it. Why would Barbossa had gone along with it then? No, making it up was out of the question.

For about the thousandth time since I had met him, Captain Jack Sparrow was making my head spin. Nothing new. That happened all the time.

_Focus, Sade._

I closed my eyes and leaned against the ship's rail. A certain pirate captain's face broke through the darkness…

_You're different, love._

_ Let me know if you need mouth-to-mouth, love._

_ Sorry, love, but it's in my contract._

God, did that dumb pirate make me mad! Lying through his teeth to women, cheating on them, disloyal, all that stuff.

_Pirate._

But how was that an excuse? Sure he was a pirate, and that's wrong, just as wrong as stealing or cheating. What was his excuse for being a pirate?

_Love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow._

"And what's your excuse for that?" I murmured out loud.

"Lass." I felt a hand nudge my shoulder. "Lord Beckett's here. You're sitting there talking to yourself. What were you doing, asking the fish if their little days were going along smoothly?"

Barbossa's gruff voice shook me out of my thoughts. "Er… right," I said. The crew was looking expectantly at me, and Jack gave a little raise of his eyebrow, like, _Get with the program, Sade._

"Okay, everyone!" I yelled. "Kill as many Navy men as you want. Wound Beckett. Don't kill him."

Jack, Barbossa, Gibbs, and the rest of the crew turned to me with question marks glittering in their eyes. Karissa was the only one who responded. "Yes, Cap'n!" she called, and I knew she was remembering what I was- when Lord Cutler Beckett had first saved us, pulling us into his house while I parents ran the other way. He had provided food, water, shelter, even entertainment for a month, and we hid there until our parents left. "I believe that being able to flee your parents' iron grip should be everyone's right," he had said, his cold gray eyes melting a little as we discussed the subject over tea. "Except, of course, if you wish to become a pirate," he added, humor tinging the gray of his eyes.

"But why?" asked Jack, the only one who possessed the right to disagree with me.

"Because we owe him. Big time."

Jack rolled his eyes, and I could tell he thought this would end in disaster. Gibbs cleared his throat, and, averting my eyes, nodded. He did not hold the right to contradict me, and he obviously didn't want his disagreement to show. Barbossa shook his head, muttering disapprovingly to himself. Indira arched a beautiful dark eyebrow, but kept her gaze down at the ground. Nettle looked doubtful, but executed her usual salute.

"Aye-aye, Captains!" shouted about half of them, while the other half looked around uncertainly.

"Sade, love, you really think this is wise?" Jack had to hurry to keep up with me while I left to retrieve my sword.

"Yes," I said firmly. "Jack, he is one of the reasons I am blessed with freedom."

"You have only your quick wit to blame for that." Jack leaned in the doorway, watching me sort through old pineapple wrappings and rum bottles.

"We need to clean this pig sty," I grumbled. "It looks like the one Gibbs used to live in."

Jack smiled, somewhere between a grin and a smirk, and I continued my hunt. "Here!" I pulled up my sword triumphantly. "Now to find yours…" I considered diving head first into a pile of pineapple wrappings and contented myself with a belly flop.

"Found it!" I held Jack's weapon up. "I say we clean it tomorrow, hmm?" I asked him as he accepted it.

"Fair enough, love. But that's if we have a ship tomorrow." Jack's words sent a chill up my spine, and I felt my eyes grow wide.

"Jack… you don't _really _think…"

"Of course I think. Everyone thinks. Even when you're thinking about not thinking, that still amounts to thinking. Like when you're drunk, and you're trying not to think about what will happen tomorrow, you're still thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow, you're just thinking about _not _thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow."

"Ummm…" I muttered. "Sure. We'll go with that." We went above deck again and stared at the approaching ship on the horizon.

"Here it comes," said Karissa.

"Here it comes," I agreed, laying a trembling hand on her shoulder. Were we the only ones aboard the ship who had had a glimpse at Beckett's kindness? Apparently so.

The ships touched, the Navy men boarded, and the fighting began. I spotted Lord Beckett at the edge of the crowd, rushing toward us.

"Karissa!" I screamed, grabbing her and speeding off in the opposite direction. "He's coming!"

No confrontation. _Please _no confrontation. I didn't want to have to kill anyone. I had never done that before.

We ran, but it was hopeless. He was catching up. "Split up!" I called to Karissa. In her panic, she ran down the stairs, to the magazine- where there's no other exit.

Beckett abandoned his search for me and ran down the stairs. Karissa had realized her mistake and was cowering against the wall.

"Sorry, Miss Norman," said Lord Beckett, not really looking sorry. "But duty before friendship. You're a _pirate _now."

He aimed his rifle at her. I stood quietly on the staircase, watching my friend's eyes grow wide with fear. I gripped my pistol, my heart racing. It was Karissa or Beckett.

I felt my numb hand pull the trigger.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi everyone! Again, please review! It doesn't have to be long, and I love suggestions on how to make my work better, or how the plot should go, or anything else. I'll listen to good and bad reviews, so please, R AND R! **Chapter Thirteen

Suicide Contemplations

Beckett crumpled to the floor. Karissa gasped and held a hand up to her mouth, looking as though she were about to vomit. I felt the gun slip out of my hands and land on top of my fallen savior's chest with a muffled thump, then sank to my knees.

Outside, I was dimly aware of the rest of the military retreating. I heard heavy footsteps dancing around on deck, and strained my ears to hear a couple lines of _A Pirate's Life for Me. _

Karissa gasped, not removing her hand from her quivering lips. I closed my eyes, wishing it all away, all of it, all of it, all of it…

"How can so much have happened in one day?" Karissa asked, stuttering. "Your parents back, Beckett dead, that story they told you…"

I averted my eyes from the man who had once possessed life, which I had robbed from him. "I'll be in my cabin," I said shortly.

I turned to go up the stairs, still refusing to accept that any of it had happened.

When I arrived above deck, all the pirates in Jack's crew were singing songs of victory. All of my crew were cleaning up after the battle, occasionally joining in with the men in a verse or two before returning to work.

I moved through the crowd, trying to stay on the edges. No one noticed me. Well, good. That was the way I wanted it. My little plan would never work if someone did.

I pushed open the door to my cabin violently, slamming it against the wall. I wasn't crying. I was numb. I couldn't feel anything.

I didn't really think about what I was doing. The movements came naturally to my fingers as I lifted a sword up- I didn't care if it was mine, if it was Jack's- at the moment I wouldn't have cared if it was Davy's. Instinctively, I felt my hands steadily aim the blade at my heart…

_Crash. _Someone had come from behind and tackled me onto the dried pineapple wrappings. At first, all I could see was dangling beads, but then I realized that it was Captain Jack Sparrow who had saved me from myself.

He ripped the blade from my hands and rolled over so that he was on top of me, his dark, dark eyes ablaze with anger and… wild, wild, wild fear. I had never seen him so scared. I had never seen anyone so scared, not even Karissa just before Beckett was about to kill her. I stared in shock at this new expression, then returned to being numb again.

Neither of us spoke for a while. He just kept staring at me in that odd way, like he had just realized someone had poisoned his food and was waiting to die. Finally he threw the sword across the room, where it created a brilliant arc through the air before landing on the bed. He then turned to me again. I hadn't bothered to get up off of the pineapple wrappings, and was just lying there. Nothing mattered anymore. I had robbed an honest man of his life. I was no better than a pirate myself. I didn't care what Jack did next.

"Sade," he whispered throatily, like he had just died several times over. "Why?"

I gave him no response.

"You're torturing me," he continued in the same tone. "If you had done that, I never would have been able to forgive myself."

No emotions surfaced within me. Jack could go away and never return for all I cared.

He sank next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. Unlike the many times he had done so in the past, his hand didn't start slowly and suggestively creeping toward my chest. He kept it in place, shaking. "Isn't there anything I can do to make you know that people care about you? That life is worth living?"

"You shouldn't care about me," I droned indifferently. "I just killed an innocent man."

Jack gaped at me for a minute. Somewhere deep inside, I felt satisfied. I had finally made the world's most infamous pirate speechless. "So that's what this is about."

"Yes."

"You killed him."

"Yes."

"My heartiest congratulations! Come, have a drink. And some dried pineapple, love. This is an event to be celebrated." He smiled and got up. The place on my shoulder where his hand had been was suddenly cold.

"Jack." Finally, I was crying. "He's dead. I killed him. He's dead and I killed him. I'm worthless. I'm an awful person. Give me that sword. You'll be happier without me."

I started toward the sword. Jack, moving faster than I'd ever seen anyone move in my life, blocked me, arms outstretched, and pulled me into a tight, tight, tight hug.

"My darling," he murmured in my ear. "My poor, poor, poor darling, I don't know how I lived without you."

Something about his calm tone of voice, or maybe the words he spoke, or something about it calmed me down. "Jack," I sobbed, crying, harder than I ever had in my life, into his shoulder.

He pulled me close, and when I surfaced from the safe fortress of his arms his eyes had that look again, like he was the one in danger, not me.

"Sade," he said sadly, putting more emotion into his voice than ever before. "You are worthy to be loved. If anyone here doesn't deserve the other's company, it is I who don't deserve yours."

I sobbed harder, and leaned on his shoulder. I didn't believe him.

"Sade," he whispered. "Please tell me you won't do that again. Promise me."

His eyes had such feeling in them that I wished I could. But I shook my head sadly.

"No, Jack, no. I can't do that."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

An hour later, I was stuck in the brig of my own ship, with no weapons or anything dangerous in the least possible way.

"Well, here I am," I called out into the darkness. "Locked up in my own ship. Killed an innocent man. Why, I don't have anything left, do I? Not even a bit of dried pineapple. How ironic. How very, very ironic."

I waited for a reply. None came. I sighed, sat down, and slumped against the hard, cold wall, closing my eyes as images flooded my mind.

Jack grabbing my arm and hoisting me out of the cabin. Karissa trying to save me, but falling back, looking horrified as Jack explained himself. Barbossa glancing up from the side of the ship, having overheard Jack's explanation, and bowing his head grimly. Gibbs, staring. Just staring.

Then came the worst image. Jack throwing me into the brig, giving me a quick look with so many mixed emotions there's no earthly way to describe it, and hearing my own voice call hoarsely to him, begging to let me out, begging to have that sword again so that I could finish the job that should have been completed in the first place.

I opened my eyes again and took in reality. No one had come down yet to visit their beloved Captain Sade River, who probably wasn't so beloved anymore. I had killed an innocent man.

When the door creaked open a few minutes later, I jumped and turned around to find Barbossa.

"Hector, let me out!" I screamed at him. "I am your captain! You must obey me! Set me free!"

He ignored my shouts and strode up in that way he always did- somewhat graceful, going slower than most people would.

"Have you forgotten your duties, Sade?" he inquired.

Oh. I completely had. I had to defeat Davy Jones. Right.

"You do know I was born on Friday the thirteenth?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, Barbossa," I sighed. "But I killed an innocent man. You don't know what that feels like."

"The hell I don't," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Darling, I am a _pirate_. Have you forgotten the story Jack told you?"

Yet another thing I had forgotten.

"I was horrid back then," he continued. "Absolutely horrid. I'm a better man. And I can't blame Jack for rescuing any of the people he did. Now, lass, you listen up. Remind me why you killed him."

"Because he was about to kill Karissa."

"So, what you're admitting, love," came Jack's voice from the door, as he stepped in. "Is that the correct phrase is not 'killing an innocent man' but rather, 'taking any necessary measures to save a friend.'"

I paused, contemplating this.

Jack paraded over to me, smirking in that way he always did- it was so achingly familiar. "You, Sade River…"

"Captain," I corrected him quickly.

Jack grinned, then swiftly went back to his smirk. "You, Captain Sade River, are therefore cleared of all charges. Any objections?"

He raised his eyebrows at Barbossa, who rolled his eyes and returned to watching the view out the window.

"Jack here was practically crying after he took you down," he told me. "Locked himself in the cabin, drained about half a bottle of rum."

Jack smiled. "Not crying so much as… how shall I put this…"

"Crying," supplied Barbossa, and I couldn't help it; I laughed a little.

Jack's smirk widened. "Was that a smile I saw, love?"

Barbossa glanced at me hopefully.

I grinned and tried to hug Jack… then I remembered we were talking through bars.

"Here, love," Jack said, and Barbossa tossed him the keys, which he used to unlock my cage. "Now next time," said my savior just before he opened the door. "Turn to ol' Jack for a solution. Don't consult a sword."

I flew into his arms and he caressed my hair, Barbossa looking on, satisfied. Jack stroked his arms up and down my back- and then toward my stomach and further upward. Oh, well. You can't trust a pirate for too long. I slapped his hand away and raced out the door, to see my crew fully functioning. Yes, there they all were. And there was Karissa, running toward me… I smiled as she pulled me into a hug.

"Sade, I can't believe you almost committed suicide!" she exclaimed. "I'm sad, too, but when you think about it, he was quite gruesome! Killing pirates just because they're pirates. What is this world coming too?"

I gave her another quick hug and hurried to the captain's cabin. Night was beginning to fall, and I had a feeling that Jack and I needed to hurry up if we wanted the cabin clean by tomorrow.

**Hello, everyone! Thanks for reading! Remember, please R and R! I want to know how to make my story better and how I'm doing. SketchBookBitch, thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you like it so much!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Best Friends and Ceremonies

The next morning, I awoke to a fresh, clean room. Jack and I had stayed up till midnight cleaning, and there were no more pineapple wrappings or empty rum bottles.

But there was an empty heart. And it was mine.

You see, I wasn't quite over the fact that I had killed Lord Cutler Beckett. I wasn't about to try to kill myself again, but I did decide that we should have a ceremony for him.

Jack, who for some reason was in my bed instead of his cot, was sleeping peacefully. I watched his chest rise and fall as he muttered something about gold. Up, down. Up, down. A slow, steady rhythm.

_He looks so innocent when he sleeps, _I thought. _You'd never guess he was a pirate- well, except for the clothes. _I smiled fondly down at his rum stained shirt, moving with his chest in the steady rising and falling motion.

"Jack. Hey, Jack," I said shaking him. He opened his eyes with a violent jolt.

"Love, next time, when we're up till midnight, maybe you could let me sleep in?" he asked, rolling over and stretching.

"Sorry, but we're having Beckett's ceremony today and it's already nine o clock," I explained, standing up. "Now come on, Jack."

The pirate captain groaned. "Help me up."

I rolled my eyes, pulling on my leather jacket. "I thought it was the gentleman who's supposed to help the lady up," I returned, mocking him as I strode over to help

Once we had both woken up completely and were both out of bed, we left the cabin in search of breakfast before the ceremony. It pleased me so much to see them all; there was Barbossa, steering, there were Gibbs and Karissa at the breakfast table, there were Indira, Nettle, and a couple other loyal crew members preparing my glorious ship for another day out on the ocean.

"Hi, Hector," I called cheerfully as Jack and I passed him. He glanced up and winked.

"Feeling better, my sweet?"

"Much," I replied happily. "Hi, Nettle!" I yelled up to her. She was in the crow's nest, gazing out into the sea.

"Good morning, Cap'n!"

Jack and I continued to the breakfast table, where Karissa and Gibbs were laughing about something that involved, from what I overheard, sharks. When they saw us, they both waved and grinned.

My heart burst with pride as I lay eyes over my ship, my crew, everything that had helped me and supported me.

"You're right," I admitted to Jack as we sat down. "Life is worth living. Especially this kind."

"Hey, Sade! Hey, Jack!" Karissa passed us both a biscuit. "How's the cabin looking?"

"Better than the pig sty it was before," Jack said. "Where's Beckett's body?"

"We haven't moved it yet," said Gibbs quietly. "I'll get it ready for the ceremony."

Karissa and I bowed our heads with sorrow.

"He was a brave man, I'll give him that," said Jack as Gibbs hurried off. "So you really wouldn't have escaped without him?"

"Never," Karissa replied, looking Jack in the eye. "But Sade did the right thing. We should all be proud of her."

"When haven't we ever been proud of our raging feminist here?" asked Jack, smirking a little. "Now if you'd calm down a little, you and I could have some fun, love," he added, leaning closer towards me. "You'd better get used to staying up till midnight if we…"

He ended his sentence abruptly when Karissa reached over and slapped him. Then she and I stood up and skipped away together, giggling.

_So this is why I killed Beckett. So that my truly loyal friend could survive. _

Karissa and I approached the edge of the ship, still giggling over Karissa's action. I hugged her briefly, we shared one last laugh, and she flounced away, waving merrily to anyone she could find.

I sighed and leaned against the ship's rail. Footsteps came up the stairs from where Beckett was killed, and I turned to see Gibbs staring solemnly at me.

"We're ready," he said gravely.

A couple hours later, the whole of the _Ocean Pearl _was gathered on deck. Well, everyone except my parents, of course, who I was planning to talk to after the ceremony. Karissa was by my side, and Jack and Gibbs were in the audience. Since they hadn't known Beckett, they figured it was best not to say anything.

"An innocent man was killed yesterday," I began. "Killed by the very person he had saved a couple years back. An old friend killed in order to save an older one."

"I'm younger than he was," Karissa whispered to me.

"You know what I mean!" I whisper-shouted back, then turned to the crew and Jack again. "Beckett was about to kill Karissa for nothing except simply sailing under a pirate flag. I really, really, really did not want to kill a soul, but I had no time for a reasonable reaction."

"That was a reasonable reaction," called Gloria, a member of my crew.

"Hear, hear!" agreed at least a dozen other people.

I sighed. Try to get a pirate to pay attention for one moment…

"Anyway. We bless his spirit and hope that he will have a good afterlife. To the glory of God we pray, Amen." I closed my eyes and lowered my head, like we used to do in church.

"Amen," repeated everyone present, except for about half of Jack's crew, who had never been to church before, and looked around, confused.

I opened my eyes and stared down at the dead man in front of me. And then it hit me. If I had let him kill Karissa, I would be feeling a million times worse.

"We can't bury him on a ship. Everyone knows that, But I propose we stop at an island and bury him there, and draw a cross in the sand above him. It's the best we can do," I explained to everyone. "So please, be on the lookout for an island. Call me if you see one." Here the ceremony ended, and for the first time I accepted what I had done. I was an outcast, not quite a pirate. And being an outcast meant doing things you had to do.

As the crowd dispersed, I beckoned to Karissa, Barbossa, and Jack.

"C'mon," I told them. "I need your help facing the parents from hell."

"We will gladly assist you, m'lady," said Barbossa, bowing.

"In any way we can, love," agreed Jack, tipping his hat to me.

"Sure, why not?" was Karissa's response, and I grinned at her. Boy, was I glad I had shot Beckett.

"Well… Come on. Let's go." Our little group paraded down the stairs to my parents' cabin. And I had no idea what to expect.

"Jack," I whispered to the pirate. "Try to annoy my dad again. But use a different method, please?"

Jack grinned wickedly as the door swung open. "No, Sade, no," he replied, imitating me. "I can't do that."

**Thanks for reading! Please, please, please review! I'd like to see any suggestions, concerns, or questions you have about my story! So please, R and R! Thank you!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Love, According to Jack Sparrow

"There you are!"

That was my mother's greeting as Jack, Karissa, Barbossa and I stepped in their bedroom. My mother was lying on the bed, and my father, who had been pacing, turned to look at us.

"Don't touch my daughter," he said to Jack, who was holding my hand.

Jack responded with a smug smirk. Karissa and Barbossa glanced at each other with question marks in their eyes.

_Inside joke _I mouthed to them.

"Sade, I can't believe my own daughter left me to rot here in this stupid bedroom on this stupid ship!"

"It's not stupid! The _Ocean Pearl _is majestic, amazing, and, by the way, the most durable ship to ever sail the Caribbean." I crossed my arms.

"Who's this?" my dad asked warily, glancing at Barbossa.

Jack sent him a wink, and Barbossa got the message. "Yet another one of your lovely daughter's admirers," he answered, pushing Jack aside and grabbing my hand. "Jack and I are in competition."

Karissa cleared her throat, signaling for us all to get back on topic. She obviously didn't realize that we had arrived at it.

"I'm independent. I don't need you anymore," I told them, yanking my hand back from Barbossa. "I never needed you. And I don't see a reason to come back with you. I just killed a man to save my best friend's life." I gestured to Karissa.

"I'm at least denying you a sex life," my mother clarified, pointing at Jack and Barbossa. Jack raised his eyebrows at me, as if suggesting something, and I rolled my eyes and shoved Barbossa, who in turn fell into Jack, and the two pirates fell tumbling to the floor.

"They're faking it," I explained.

"We are?" Jack asked Barbossa, confused. Barbossa shrugged and returned his attention to the conversation.

"To annoy you," I continued. "I was in on it. I'm still a virgin; I'm planning on keeping it that way for quite a while."

"You know, at the beginning of all this you were saying you'd be one forever," Karissa snickered into my ear.

I pushed her away, and she joined the tangle of pirates on the floor. "I don't need supervision in my life anymore. I'm free, except, of course, for the curse, but that's all that's holding me back. I'm Captain Sade River. I don't need anyone. However," I added. "If you would like to stay on the ship for a while, I'll grant you that. As much as I hate it, I used to need you. You gave me food and water, and kept me alive. In pirating, that's saying a lot. You may join us for a couple months, see what we do. And I don't believe I've told you about Davy's curse yet." I snapped a finger in my crew's- and Captain Jack's- general direction. "Hector, why don't you tell them?"

"Sure, Cap'n," he responded.

Jack, Karissa and I left, and I went to take over steering. Jack leaned on the rail next to me, while Karissa left to go to the opposite end of the ship.

"Love…" Jack's voice faltered for a minute, then he continued. "We've been through a lot the last couple weeks. I've discovered things about myself. You've discovered things about yourself. We've discovered things about each other."

"Your point being?"

"That I like what I see." He smirked and stared out at the ocean. We were silent for a few seconds. "I'd like to see more," he added, glancing down at my body.

I grinned fondly and gave him a little kick. "You're never going to, Jackie."

"I wouldn't be so sure," he replied, giving a smug raise of his eyebrows.

"Uh huh," I said. More silence followed.

"Tell me," I said. "How can we never have a conversation without you mentioning something completely inappropriate? Or touching me? Or anything?"

"Maybe it's the way we were meant to be," he replied in that seductive tone of his. "You see, darling, there are some people, when they meet, they clash. They collide. They react strongly to each other. And I firmly believe that that's you and me."

"So… you're saying?"

"That I wish you wouldn't regard me as a playboy or a womanizer and that I wish we could stay up late one night, you could drink some rum, get loose, and we could…"

He was cut off by Nettle. "Captain!" she called. "We found an island! It's time for Lord Beckett's burial."

The crew were preparing to stop at the island. Jack gave me one last, meaningful look, then, suddenly, sly as a cat, grabbed me and held my face close to his. His eyes seemed to be calculating something, and we stood there like that for a few seconds.

But then he released me… but not before muttering something so dirty in my ear that I won't dare to repeat here.

"Jack!" I scolded, blushing.

He gave me a sly smirk, and I felt my heart flutter. I doubt that what he had said would be clean enough for an R rated movie. I shuddered as he strode away, graceful, handsome… maybe even brave?

I closed my eyes and leaned on the ship's rail.

Was I in love with a pirate?

** I hope you all enjoyed this! This is the end of this book. I hope to have the sequel, Unfinished Business, uploaded soon. Please review! I want to take any suggestions, and hear any criticism or complaints you might have. Again, thanks for reading! :)**


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